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kundor's review against another edition
4.0
Most of these are excellent stories, but several make me wonder what the SFWA members were thinking when they chose them. I wish there was some sort of discussion included of what swayed the voters.
"Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman
Well-crafted, poetic social critique. The science-fictional element is there (the "cardio-plate"), but the emphasis here is definitely on the flow of words. Has a great title and a great sentence about jelly beans.
The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth
Very readable tale of man confronting something greater than himself, set on a Venus they must have known was impossible by 1965.
The Saliva Tree
Very scary gothic tale set on a remote farm in Victorian England. Walking through a dimly lit city square after reading this, I saw a statue of a frog out of the corner of my eye, and jumped a foot. The build-up of the sense of looming doom is scarcely perceptible, but inexorable.
He Who Shapes
Another very readable tale from Mr. Zelazny, with lots of fun predictions for our own time with the usual distortion (we have already greatly improved on the clunky interface he presents for his self-driving cars, but we're still lacking the self-driving cars.) I'm not sure I understand the ending.
The Secret Place
I don't really see how this is science fiction.
It may be classifiable as speculative fiction, but it's not particularly illuminating speculation.
Call Him Lord
An entertaining concept - (mild spoilers:) Earth is maintained as a museum world by a Space Empire, with the population living like an Amish enclave (adopting some new technologies, not others.) The heir to the Empire has to visit Kentucky, of all places,
The Last Castle
Nicely written far-future tale on an Earth reverted to wilderness. Reminds me of Against the Fall of Night. The use of animals in the place of machines (for ground and air transport) is a novel touch. The aversion of the gentlemen to any manual labor seems faintly silly, but cases nearly as extreme can be found in actual history. I like the raucous Birds and the occasional info-dumping footnotes.
Aye, and Gomorrah. . .
Very New Wave. The basic conceit is interesting, but I would like it better as a backdrop element in a larger tale, rather than the sole focus of a story.
Gonna Roll the Bones
This is a work of fantasy, not science fiction! A few references to space ships and Martian creatures could be deleted with no effect on the story. It seems to be set on an asteroid, but that, too, is immaterial.
Behold the Man
Time travel is the only science-fictional element here. Otherwise, it is filled with mainstream strained-relationship flashbacks mixed into a version of "Life of Brian" without the humor.
The Planners
This is a story about injecting sRNA (in blood) into chimps and other subjects, to transfer training or knowledge. Of course, if this happened, recipients of blood transfusions would find themselves suddenly able to speak foreign languages or play new instruments, which they don't. This basically silly idea is made to appear more serious by having the protagonist constantly hallucinate bizarre scenes and be sick of his wife. This might be interesting if it turned out to be somehow linked to the experiments, but it's not.
Mother to the World
Standard postapocalyptic Adam-and-Eve story with the twist that Eve is mentally deficient.
Dragonrider
The second Pern story. The world-building is fantastic (the well-developed social and political structures forming the backdrop of the story.) The characters are a bit stilted. The resolution is rather pat. Honestly, I think the universe would have been better off without the time-jumping bit (which Wikipedia tells me John W. Campbell was responsible for.) Certainly deserves to be in this volume.
Passengers
Good, true sci-fi: society deals with the effects of "Passengers" which can unexpectedly take control of anyone's body, to use for their own purposes for some hours or days, then depart. New-Wavey in that it focuses solely on the effects on people; no investigation or explanation is offered as to the cause or agency of these possessions. I would prefer that something be said about this, but it's good nonetheless.
Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones
A picaroon in space! An enjoyable romp with a discordant ending. I like the concept of the Singers.
A Boy and His Dog
This is New Wave done right. Sure, the focus is on the characters, and those characters are certainly not the heroic heroes and villainous villains of older sci-fi; but stuff actually happens, and there are reasons why it happens, and the world is clearly described. Recommended if you have a strong stomach.
"Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman
Well-crafted, poetic social critique. The science-fictional element is there (the "cardio-plate"), but the emphasis here is definitely on the flow of words. Has a great title and a great sentence about jelly beans.
The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth
Very readable tale of man confronting something greater than himself, set on a Venus they must have known was impossible by 1965.
The Saliva Tree
Very scary gothic tale set on a remote farm in Victorian England. Walking through a dimly lit city square after reading this, I saw a statue of a frog out of the corner of my eye, and jumped a foot. The build-up of the sense of looming doom is scarcely perceptible, but inexorable.
He Who Shapes
Another very readable tale from Mr. Zelazny, with lots of fun predictions for our own time with the usual distortion (we have already greatly improved on the clunky interface he presents for his self-driving cars, but we're still lacking the self-driving cars.) I'm not sure I understand the ending.
The Secret Place
I don't really see how this is science fiction.
Spoiler
A team is sent to search the Oregon desert for uranium during World War II. None is found, but one man becomes involved with a local girl whose fantasy play-world inexplicably mirrors the topography of the Miocene epoch.It may be classifiable as speculative fiction, but it's not particularly illuminating speculation.
Call Him Lord
An entertaining concept - (mild spoilers:) Earth is maintained as a museum world by a Space Empire, with the population living like an Amish enclave (adopting some new technologies, not others.) The heir to the Empire has to visit Kentucky, of all places,
Spoiler
to have his character judged - if he's too much of a city slicker, no Empire for him!The Last Castle
Nicely written far-future tale on an Earth reverted to wilderness. Reminds me of Against the Fall of Night. The use of animals in the place of machines (for ground and air transport) is a novel touch. The aversion of the gentlemen to any manual labor seems faintly silly, but cases nearly as extreme can be found in actual history. I like the raucous Birds and the occasional info-dumping footnotes.
Aye, and Gomorrah. . .
Very New Wave. The basic conceit
Spoiler
(that space travelers, to avoid radiation problems, must be neutered pre-puberty, like castrati; and that the resulting androgynes would become objects of sexual fascination to certain people)Gonna Roll the Bones
This is a work of fantasy, not science fiction! A few references to space ships and Martian creatures could be deleted with no effect on the story. It seems to be set on an asteroid, but that, too, is immaterial.
Behold the Man
Time travel is the only science-fictional element here. Otherwise, it is filled with mainstream strained-relationship flashbacks mixed into a version of "Life of Brian" without the humor.
The Planners
This is a story about injecting sRNA (in blood) into chimps and other subjects, to transfer training or knowledge. Of course, if this happened, recipients of blood transfusions would find themselves suddenly able to speak foreign languages or play new instruments, which they don't. This basically silly idea is made to appear more serious by having the protagonist constantly hallucinate bizarre scenes and be sick of his wife. This might be interesting if it turned out to be somehow linked to the experiments, but it's not.
Mother to the World
Standard postapocalyptic Adam-and-Eve story with the twist that Eve is mentally deficient.
Dragonrider
The second Pern story. The world-building is fantastic (the well-developed social and political structures forming the backdrop of the story.) The characters are a bit stilted. The resolution is rather pat. Honestly, I think the universe would have been better off without the time-jumping bit (which Wikipedia tells me John W. Campbell was responsible for.) Certainly deserves to be in this volume.
Passengers
Good, true sci-fi: society deals with the effects of "Passengers" which can unexpectedly take control of anyone's body, to use for their own purposes for some hours or days, then depart. New-Wavey in that it focuses solely on the effects on people; no investigation or explanation is offered as to the cause or agency of these possessions. I would prefer that something be said about this, but it's good nonetheless.
Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones
A picaroon in space! An enjoyable romp with a discordant ending. I like the concept of the Singers.
A Boy and His Dog
This is New Wave done right. Sure, the focus is on the characters, and those characters are certainly not the heroic heroes and villainous villains of older sci-fi; but stuff actually happens, and there are reasons why it happens, and the world is clearly described. Recommended if you have a strong stomach.
jameseckman's review against another edition
4.0
An excellent collection of 60's science fiction works. A mixture of what at that time was old school SF and the humanist New Wave which makes a nice contrast and compare collection. Includes Ellison's A Boy and His Dog among others. I may not have read this particular collection, but I've read all of the stories listed.
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